Ingle, Bordsen reflect on time in elected office

Published: Sunday, January 13, 2013 at 05:59 PM.

Former North Carolina House Reps. Dan Ingle and Alice Bordsen aren’t completely saying goodbye to public life as they develop new routines.

Both Ingle and Bordsen decided not to run for re-election to the General Assembly in 2012. Bordsen, a Democrat, had served five terms as House District 63 representative since 2003.

Ingle, a Republican, was first appointed to serve as House District 64 representative in June 2009 to replace former Rep. Cary Allred. Ingle was later elected to serve his first full term as House District 64 representative in 2010 with no opposition.

Bordsen, of Mebane, said last week “it still feels a little strange” to no longer be a member of the General Assembly. She recently returned from a two-week vacation visiting
London
and
Brussels
. There’s plenty of work for her to do these days.

A lawyer by trade, Bordsen said she will remain active with the Leadership Institute for Rural Creek to advocate for famers in the state. She will also work for a law firm in
Chapel Hill
.

Bordsen said she hadn’t completely ruled out another run for elected office in the future and didn’t regret her decision not to run for re-election in 2012.

Former North Carolina House Reps. Dan Ingle and Alice Bordsen aren’t completely saying goodbye to public life as they develop new routines.

Both Ingle and Bordsen decided not to run for re-election to the General Assembly in 2012. Bordsen, a Democrat, had served five terms as House District 63 representative since 2003.

Ingle, a Republican, was first appointed to serve as House District 64 representative in June 2009 to replace former Rep. Cary Allred. Ingle was later elected to serve his first full term as House District 64 representative in 2010 with no opposition.

Bordsen, of Mebane, said last week “it still feels a little strange” to no longer be a member of the General Assembly. She recently returned from a two-week vacation visiting London and Brussels. There’s plenty of work for her to do these days.

A lawyer by trade, Bordsen said she will remain active with the Leadership Institute for Rural Creek to advocate for famers in the state. She will also work for a law firm in Chapel Hill.

Bordsen said she hadn’t completely ruled out another run for elected office in the future and didn’t regret her decision not to run for re-election in 2012.

“I needed to take time to breathe for awhile,” Bordsen said.

Bordsen said she decided not to run for re-election last year because she believed it would be difficult to win in a redrawn district and because she didn’t want to go through another exhausting re-election campaign. Bordsen said she was exhausted by her re-election bid in 2010.

Bordsen said when she was elected in 2002 she planned to serve for 10 years and then assess whether to continue to serve. Bordsen said she is not currently considering running for office again, but left the window open for future opportunities in elected office.

Bordsen said she was proud of her record in the General Assembly during the past decade. Her work included providing law enforcement with more tools to process evidence, increasing funding for public education and the court system, and providing better behavioral and drug treatment programs in the justice system, especially for juvenile offenders.

During her term, Bordsen supported reforms in the probation and parole system emphasizing the need for mental health treatment. Bordsen said the state shouldn’t focus solely on punishment but provide mental health counseling as well for inmates.

“The mental health component is lacking,” Bordsen said.

Bordsen said she also worked to provide state funding to upgrade the AlamanceCounty library system and for local road improvements.

Ingle, of Burlington, still stands by his record in the General Assembly. Ingle said Saturday he decided not to run for re-election last year because he wanted to spend more time with his family and had agreed before being elected in 2010 that he would serve just one term.

Ingle described the past few weeks as “funny and strange” since he knew that he wasn’t returning to Raleigh for a new session.

During his term, Ingle said he worked to reform student loan programs, helped set new standards for solid waste landfills, and created a framework for job growth. Ingle said he would continue to support the state’s need to reform its tax code, making it more business-friendly.

Ingle has spent most of his professional life in law enforcement, including time spent with the Elon Police Department. Ingle is a former Alamance County Commissioner who was elected in 2004 and 2008 to serve on the board.

Since stepping away from elected office, Ingle said he has been asked to serve on a few local nonprofit boards, including Pathway Ministries.

“I plan to stay busy in the community,” Ingle said.

Ingle said he missed his fellow lawmakers in Raleigh but didn’t regret his decision not to run for re-election. He was also optimistic last week about AlamanceCounty’s local delegation and the work that can be done for the county through Gov. Pat McCrory’s leadership.